GRANT Cubis, a local business owner for 12 years, believes that Noosa has "all the components for a good head space".

"I moved to Noosa in 1976 with my mother, father, brother and sister. My father purchased the local fish and tackle shop on Hilton Tce, Tewantin.

"This was to be the beginning of an amazing relationship with our local environment. I grew up surfing, fishing, boating, camping and making the most of what Noosa had to offer. I have fond memories of camping around a fire on Noosa's North Shore watching the sunrise.

"I have seen Noosa grow from a quiet, sleepy, relaxed and beautiful place to an area that so many people want to be a part of.

"I believe that everyone who comes to Noosa feels its beauty and wants to be a part of it. The people who come to stay try their best to preserve its innocence which is demonstrated by the way in which the council has made the Noosa River so user friendly for everyone without losing its natural beauty.

"Noosa to me is being able to live the dream. I try hard not to live to work but to enjoy the freedom I have with running my own business - and work to live.

"I remember being able to relax with the majority of locals in town at the Reef Hotel on Noosa Hill in nothing but a pair of thongs and shorts and no shirt.

Being a local businessman for the last 12 years and talking to as many people as I do, both locals and tourists on a daily basis, I have found that people who have travelled the world find Noosa to be a place that has the balance right. It has all the components for a good head space."